Saturday, July 14, 2012

Tonight the Dodgers look to build on last night's win that didn't quite feel like a win, but still counts that way. With the return of Kemp and Ethier, there is an expectation that the noffense will have enough pop to storm the second half of the season. We'll be waiting anxiously for that to start. Several Sons attended the game last night, and we can report that we didn't see anything revolutionary yet in the offensive department (though some may claim the Sons themselves were offensive).

Aaron Harang gets the start where one would usually expect Chad Billingsley to be going out as the number two pitcher in the rotation. Don Mattingly has explained that this is more of a second-half of the season reset after the break to take advantage of matchups versus certain teams. Not sure if I buy that line of thinking given the many questions swirling around whether Bills can get it together - consistently - and prove he is indeed a go-to guy. Chris Capuano has apparently been slotted into the number four pitcher, though he has been the Dodgers' best this season. We could think too hard about this one, but let's not go losing our heads.

Taking a look to the top of the NL West, Timmeh Lincecum is on the mound for the Gnats today, so we'll be peeking at the scoreboard to see if he continues to see his pitching form retreat like a French soldier. Dodgers currently enjoy a guillotine-thin half-game lead on Gnats, who have the luxury of playing the Astros this stand.